This month’s big book on the Superhero chart is Action Comics: 80 Years of Superman, a deluxe hardcover commemorating the 80th anniversary of the iconic superhero. Published as a companion volume to Action Comics #1000, the book includes a previously unpublished Superman story unearthed by Marv Wolfman (see "DC to Release Lost Siegel and Shuster Superman Story") as well as more classic Superman stories and commentary from a variety of insiders.
Unlike the overall Adult list, the Superhero list is composed mostly of March and April releases, with the exception of the perennial best-sellers Watchmen, Batman: The Killing Joke, and V for Vendetta, and the books that are associated with the movies Avengers: The Infinity War and Black Panther.
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NPD BookScan Top 20 'Superhero' Graphic Novels – April 2018 (4/2/18 - 4/29/18) |
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Rank |
Title |
Author |
Publisher |
|
1 |
ACTION COMICS: 80 YEARS OF SUPERMAN HC |
VARIOUS |
DC COMICS |
|
2 |
INFINITY GAUNTLET |
JIM STARLIN |
MARVEL COMICS |
|
3 |
BLACK PANTHER BOOK 1: A NATION UNDER OUR FEET |
TA-NEHISI COATES |
MARVEL COMICS |
|
4 |
MARVEL'S AVENGERS: INFINITY WAR PRELUDE |
WILL CORONA PILGRIM |
MARVEL COMICS |
|
5 |
STAR WARS: DARTH VADER VOL. 2 |
CHARLES SOULE |
MARVEL COMICS |
|
6 |
WATCHMEN |
ALAN MOORE |
DC COMICS |
|
7 |
STAR WARS VOL. 7 |
KIERON GILLEN |
MARVEL COMICS |
|
8 |
OVERWATCH: ANTHOLOGY VOL. 1 HC |
BLIZZARD ENT. |
DARK HORSE BOOKS |
|
9 |
INFINITY WAR |
JIM STARLIN |
MARVEL COMICS |
|
10 |
GREEN LANTERN: EARTH ONE VOL. 1 HC |
GABRIEL HARDMAN |
DC COMICS |
|
11 |
X-MEN: GRAND DESIGN |
ED PISKOR |
MARVEL COMICS |
|
12 |
BATMAN: THE KILLING JOKE, DLX. ED. HC |
ALAN MOORE |
DC COMICS |
|
13 |
INVINCIBLE VOL. 25 |
KIRKMAN ROBERT |
IMAGE COMICS |
|
14 |
BLACK PANTHER BOOK 2: A NATION UNDER OUR FEET |
TA-NEHISI COATES |
MARVEL COMICS |
|
15 |
ALIENS: DEAD ORBIT |
STOKOE JAMES |
DARK HORSE BOOKS |
|
16 |
BATMAN: DETECTIVE COMICS VOL. 5 |
TYNION JAMES |
DC COMICS |
|
17 |
V FOR VENDETTA |
ALAN MOORE |
VERTIGO |
|
18 |
BLACK PANTHER: WORLD OF WAKANDA |
TA-NEHISI COATES |
MARVEL COMICS |
|
19 |
THE SANDMAN VOL. 1 |
NEIL GAIMAN |
VERTIGO |
|
20 |
BLACK PANTHER BOOK 3: A NATION UNDER OUR FEET |
TA-NEHISI COATES |
MARVEL COMICS |
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Source: The NPD Group/BookScan |
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Am I There Yet? tops the Author list, bumping the latest volume of The Walking Dead to the #2 slot, a reversal of the March placements. VIZ Media's compilation of the webcomic Homestuck, a cult hit from a few years ago, makes the #5 slot. Image Comics has a heavy presence (11 titles) but other than that the top 20 books have little in common, with a wide range of genres, voices, and styles.
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NPD BookScan Top 20 Author Graphic Novels – April 2018 (4/2/18 - 4/29/18) |
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Rank |
Title |
Author |
Publisher |
|
1 |
AM I THERE YET?: THE LOOP-DE-LOOP, ZIGZAGGING JOURNEY TO ADULTHOOD HC |
MARI ANDREW |
CLARKSON POTTER |
|
2 |
THE WALKING DEAD VOL. 29 |
ROBERT KIRKMAN |
IMAGE COMICS |
|
3 |
PAPER GIRLS VOL. 4 |
BRIAN K. VAUGHAN |
IMAGE COMICS |
|
4 |
SAGA VOL. 8 |
BRIAN K. VAUGHAN |
IMAGE COMICS |
|
5 |
HOMESTUCK: BOOK 1: ACT 1 & ACT 2 |
ANDREW HUSSIE |
VIZ MEDIA |
|
6 |
MARCH: BOOK ONE |
JOHN LEWIS |
TOP SHELF PRODUCTIONS |
|
7 |
WHAT TO DO WHEN I'M GONE: A MOTHER'S WISDOM TO HER DAUGHTER HC |
SUZY HOPKINS |
BLOOMSBURY UK |
|
8 |
THE PHILOSOPHY OF SNOOPY HC |
CHARLES M. SCHULZ |
RUNNING PRESS ADULT |
|
9 |
FUN HOME: A FAMILY TRAGICOMIC |
ALISON BECHDEL |
MARINER BOOKS |
|
10 |
AMERICAN GODS VOL. 1: SHADOW HC |
NEIL GAIMAN |
DARK HORSE BOOKS |
|
11 |
THE BLACK MONDAY MURDERS VOL. 2 |
JONATHAN HICKMAN |
IMAGE COMICS |
|
12 |
SAGA VOL. 1 |
BRIAN K. VAUGHAN |
IMAGE COMICS |
|
13 |
MONSTRESS VOL. 1 |
MARJORIE LIU |
IMAGE COMICS |
|
14 |
THE WALKING DEAD VOL. 28 |
ROBERT KIRKMAN |
IMAGE COMICS |
|
15 |
SAGA VOL. 7 |
BRIAN K. VAUGHAN |
IMAGE COMICS |
|
16 |
TERMINAL LANCE ULTIMATE OMNIBUS HC |
MAXIMILIAN URIARTE |
LITTLE BROWN AND CO. |
|
17 |
MOONSTRUCK VOL. 1 |
GRACE ELLIS |
IMAGE COMICS |
|
18 |
PAPER GIRLS VOL. 1 |
BRIAN K. VAUGHAN |
IMAGE COMICS |
|
19 |
EVERYONE'S A ALIEBN WHEN UR A ALIEBN TOO: A BOOK HC |
JOMNY SUN |
HARPER PERENNIAL |
|
20 |
HEAD LOPPER VOL. 2 |
ANDREW MACLEAN |
IMAGE COMICS |
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Source: The NPD Group/BookScan |
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VIZ pretty much owns the Manga chart, taking 18 out of the 20 slots, and even within that, a few series are heavily represented: Seven volumes of My Hero Academia and six of Tokyo Ghoul/Tokyo Ghoul: Re. While the most recent volumes are at the top of the chart, readers are clearly playing catch-up. This is not the case with Attack on Titan; Volume 24 is an April release, but no other volumes made the top 20.
Two other volumes are noteworthy: Cardcaptor Sakura: Clear Card, Volume 3, is the sole shojo (girls') title to make the list. The original Cardcaptor Sakura was an early shojo manga hit, and the creator group CLAMP has a following, so this may be benefiting from nostalgia among older fans as well as enthusiasm from younger readers. And Volume 21 of Assassination Classroom is the series finale.
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NPD BookScan Top 20 Manga – April 2018 (4/2/18 - 4/29/18) |
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Rank |
Title |
Author |
Publisher |
|
1 |
MY HERO ACADEMIA VOL. 12 |
KOHEI HORIKOSHI |
VIZ MEDIA |
|
2 |
TOKYO GHOUL: RE VOL. 4 |
SUI ISHIDA |
VIZ MEDIA |
|
3 |
ATTACK ON TITAN VOL. 24 |
HAJIME ISAYAMA |
KODANSHA COMICS |
|
4 |
THE LEGEND OF ZELDA: TWILIGHT PRINCESS VOL. 3 |
AKIRA HIMEKAWA |
VIZ MEDIA |
|
5 |
MY HERO ACADEMIA VOL. 1 |
KOHEI HORIKOSHI |
VIZ MEDIA |
|
6 |
MY HERO ACADEMIA VOL. 11 |
KOHEI HORIKOSHI |
VIZ MEDIA |
|
7 |
TOKYO GHOUL: RE VOL. 3 |
SUI ISHIDA |
VIZ MEDIA |
|
8 |
CARDCAPTOR SAKURA: CLEAR CARD VOL. 3 |
CLAMP |
KODANSHA COMICS |
|
9 |
ONE-PUNCH MAN VOL. 13 |
ONE |
VIZ MEDIA |
|
10 |
TOKYO GHOUL: RE VOL. 1 |
SUI ISHIDA |
VIZ MEDIA |
|
11 |
TOKYO GHOUL VOL. 1 |
SUI ISHIDA |
VIZ MEDIA |
|
12 |
TOKYO GHOUL: RE VOL. 2 |
SUI ISHIDA |
VIZ MEDIA |
|
13 |
MY HERO ACADEMIA VOL. 2 |
KOUHEI HORIKOSHI |
VIZ MEDIA |
|
14 |
ASSASSINATION CLASSROOM VOL. 21 |
YUSEI MATSUI |
VIZ MEDIA |
|
15 |
MY HERO ACADEMIA VOL. 10 |
KOHEI HORIKOSHI |
VIZ MEDIA |
|
16 |
RWBY |
SHIROW MIWA |
VIZ MEDIA |
|
17 |
DRAGON BALL SUPER VOL. 2 |
AKIRA TORIYAMA |
VIZ MEDIA |
|
18 |
MY HERO ACADEMIA VOL. 9 |
KOHEI HORIKOSHI |
VIZ MEDIA |
|
19 |
TOKYO GHOUL VOL. 2 |
SUI ISHIDA |
VIZ MEDIA |
|
20 |
MY HERO ACADEMIA VOL. 3 |
KOHEI HORIKOSHI |
VIZ MEDIA |
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Source: The NPD Group/BookScan |
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For charts of April graphic novel sales from NPD BookScan:
April 2018 NPD BookScan – Top 20 Adult Graphic Novels
April 2018 NPD BookScan – Top 20 Kids Graphic Novels
For the charts with the actual sales numbers from NPD BookScan, see these articles on the ICv2 Pro site:
April 2018 NPD BookScan - Top 20 Adult Graphic Novels with Actual Sales
April 2018 NPD BookScan - Top 20 Kids Graphic Novels with Actual Sales
April 2018 NPD BookScan - Top 20 Superhero, Manga, Author Graphic Novels with Actual Numbers
NPD BookScan collects weekly point-of-sale data on print books from over 16,000 locations including e-tailers, chains, mass merchandisers, independent bookstores, and more. NPD BookScan covers approximately 85% of the U.S. trade print book market. The ranks on this chart are based on piece sales. Some publishers classify titles that are primarily text, or art books, as graphic novels; we've removed those titles from the ranking above.
For past BookScan Top 20 Graphic Novel lists, see the "BookScan Top 20 GN Index."